TuSimple expands autonomous service routes for UPS from Arizona to Texas

March 6, 2020 | AUVSI News

TuSimple has announced that it has not only expanded service for current customer UPS to 20 trips per week, but it has also added another route between Phoenix, Arizona, and El Paso, Texas.

Through this engagement, 10 runs per week are on the established route between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, while the other 10 runs are on the new route.

“UPS has been a valued partner of ours since we officially started working together early last year,” says Chuck Price, chief product officer, TuSimple.

“This deep relationship shows the company’s commitment to innovation and exemplifies why UPS is considered a trailblazer when it comes to exploring and implementing cutting-edge technology.”

During operation for UPS, TuSimple’s autonomous trucks are achieving 10 percent fuel savings compared to traditional operation, the company has also announced. In Dec. 2019, TuSimple announced research results from the University of California, San Diego that show its autonomous driving technology greatly reduces the fuel consumption of heavy-duty trucks by at least 10 percent.

“This partnership is a real-world example of how autonomous trucking can reduce the carbon footprint of the freight industry,” TuSimple says.

Following a successful on-going pilot program that started in March 2019, UPS Ventures made a “first-of-its-kind strategic investment” in TuSimple in Aug. 2019. TuSimple says that the addition of a new route and an expanded number of runs is a “vote of confidence” in the company as it works to expand its autonomous capabilities and demonstrate the first driverless operation in 2021. 

“We partnered with TuSimple to explore autonomous technology for our Global Smart Logistics Network which aims to improve network efficiencies, safety, and customer service,” says Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Scott Price.

“TuSimple has been instrumental to this initiative, so it was a logical next step for us to expand the test to additional routes within our North American Freight Forwarding lanes.”